Sand drier



E. C. KIRK Much -l6 1926.

SAND DRIER Filed Jul 28, 1925 3 SheetsSheet 1 E. c. KIRK I w w n w E I 7% a 7 2 2 3 .1 WM 6 w Q a. I a 4 4 a Margh 16 1926i Patented Mar. 16, 1926.

UNITED STATE PATENT Q'FFECE.

EDWARD o. KIRK, or s r. ALBANS, WEST VIRGINIA.

SAND DRIER. I

Application filed July 28, 1925.- Serial No. 46,642.

To all whom it may 00mm; I

Be it known that I, EDWARD C. KIRK,

a citizen of the United States. residing at St. Albans, in the county of Kanawhaand State of West Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sand Driers, of which the; following is a specification. 1 a

This invention relates to sand driers and has for its object the provision of an im-' proved construction whereby fusing Or burning of the walls of the. fire-box and the dome wvill be prevented. Another object'of the influence of theheat of the drier bakes, and.

adheres tothe walls of the. stove or heat generator and causes the walls to fuse so that the life of the drier is shortened and the productattained is inferior.

sists in certain novel features which will be hereinafter first fully described and then more particularly pointed out in the ap pended claims. 7

In the accompanying drawings which il lustrate one embodiment of the "invention? Figure 1 is a plan view of the drier partly broken away;

Fig. 2 is aside elevation of the same partly broken away;

Fig. 3 is a-vertical section on, the line 33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 41s a horizontal section on the line 4'4 of Fig. 3;

.Fig. 5 is a horizontal section on the line 5 5 of Fig. 3; r f

Fig. 6 is a detail perspective-view of the inner conical wall or shell of the dome.

'A sand drier constructed in accordance with my invention includes a base member which may be a single casting defining a substantially cylindrical body 1' having a closed bottom errpni which Supporting legs My in-. ve'nti'on overcomes these ob ect1ons and conor feet 3 depend. In the vertical wall of this cylindrical body 1 is formed an opening 4 through which ashes may be removed and through which air may be admitted to the interior of the body which constitutes an ash pit. The upper end of the body 1 is annularly enlarged, as shown at 5, and in the upper surfaceof this enlarged upper end are formed annular shoulders 6 and 7, a rim 8 projecting upwardly from the shoulder 7, as clearly shown in Fig. 3. If preferred, a tubular extension 9 may be formed upon the cylindrical bodyl to project radially outward therefrom so as to prevent the ashes, collecting in the ash pit, prematurely spilling therefrom. When the removal of the ashes becomes necessary, a shovel or similar tool may be easily inserted through the tubular projection or the opening 4 into the ash pit and the ashes thus a clean manner.

A grate'lO is provided at the upper end of the body 1 and includes a central pivotalremoved ly mounted circular body andan outerv ring' 11 which rests upon the shoulder 6,as shown;

in Fig. 3. The circular body is supported by pivots or pintles 12 and 13 which are secured at their inner ends in bosses 14 provided therefor upon the outer circumference of the circular body and which extend through the ring 11 and also through the r m 8 so as to support the grate in opera tive position, it being noted that the pintle 13 is extended laterally beyond'the rim and equipped with a crank or other handle 15 whereby .it maybe manipulated to turn the grate as occasion demands. The ring 11 has formed thereon a lip or lug 16 which projects. under the body of the. grate and thereby limits the turning movement thereof so that, when the grate is atrest, it will be in a horizontal position and its upper surface will be flush with the upper surface of the ring. It will-be noted that the ring 11 is hollow and is provided at intervals with openings 17 through'itswalls for a purpose which will presently appear. Itis also to be noted that the central circular body of the grate is constructed withslots 18- therethrough whereby to establish communication between the ash pit and the space above" 7 v the grate and also to define intervening grate bars 19 which are hollow and serve to support the coal'orother fuel which may be em 'ployed; In the under side of each grate bar 19 is formed an opening 20 through" which air from the ash pit may enter the interior of the bar and circulate through the same and around the side walls thereof so that the warping of the grate under the in- 5 fiuence of the heat thereon will be minimized. The grate bars, as shown at 21 in Fig. 5, terminate short of the outer edge of the grate so that an air passage is provided around the circumference of the grate which communicates through the openings 17 with the interior of the supporting ring 11.

Disposed above the grate and concentric therewith is a fire-box consisting of an inner cylindrical wall 22 and an outer shell 23 fitting closely about the inner wall or shell. The inner wall rests at its lower end upon the ring 11 adjacent the outer circumference thereof while the outer shell or wall 23 depends below the inner wall and has its lower edge resting on the shoulder 7 with its outer surface fitting snugly against the rim 8, as shown clearly in Fig. 3. The outer shell is also provided with a horizontal flange or shoulder 2st which rests upon the upper edge 25 of the rim 8 and in turn constitutes a support for the sand rings, as will be presently described. In the outer surface of the inner wall 22 are vertical grooves or channels 25 which extend from top to bottom thereof and alternating with the said channels or grooves 25 are vertical grooves or channels 26 which open through the top edge of the wall but terminate short of the lower edge thereof. The outer wall or shell 23 extends 5 across all the grooves and closes the outer sides of the grooves 25, but in alinemeut with the grooves 26 openings 27 are formed through the outer shell so as to permit air to flow through the outer wall or shell into the said grooves 26, as will be understood upon reference to the drawings. A fuel tube or chute 28 is provided and extends radially from the fire-box with its inner end preferably projecting through the wall of the fire-box so that its bottom will be approximately flush with ,the surface of the grate and fuel may be fed through this chute or tube onto the grate in a very convenient manner. The said fuel tube or chute may be provided with a door 29 at its outer end so that direct How of air through the said tube or chute will be prevented and the fire thus kept free of top drafts the slight quantity of air which may leak through the tube being of no consequence.

' Supported by the fire-box is a dome consisting of an inner conical shell or wall 30 andan outer mating wall or shell 31, the upper extremity of the outer shell being shapedto provide a short vertical neck about which the lower end of the smoke stack 32 may be fitted. In the outer surface of the inner conical shell or body, grooves 33 are formed, and these grooves register with the respective grooves 25 and 26 of the inner wall of the firebox, the outer shell 31 serving as a cover for the grooves 33 and the upper ends of the grooves being constantly open and unobstructed, as shown clearly in Fig. 3. From the description thus far given, it will be noted that continuous air channels are provided through the grate from the ash pit into the firebox and thence through the dome into the smoke stack. Other air passages are provided extending from the ash pit through the hollow grate and the grate ring 1]. upwardly through the walls of the fire-box and the dome into the smoke stack and a third. set of passages is providcd leading from the space around the iire'box u nvardly through the wall of the firebox and the wall of the dome into the smoke stack. The air circulating through the interior of the iire-liiox and the dome supports the con'ibustion of fuel upon the grate and this draft may be controlled by a damper 3% which is carried by a damper rod 35 rotatably fitted in the wall of the smoke stack immediately above the upper end of the dome, the damper being preferably a circular plate of such diameter that it, may fit closely within the central opening in the top of the dome. It will thus be seen that, although the central, dratt through the fire'box and the dome may be cut oil entirely or reduced as may be most advantageous under any circumstances, the flow of air through the walls of the fire-box and the dome will be free and uninterrupted at all times.

Resting upon the shelf or flange 24 is a lower sand ring 36 which is provided at its outer edge on its upper side with a rim or flange 37 within which may be snugly fitted the lower end edge of an inverted conical hopper 38 whereby the hopper will be firmly supported. Between the inner and outer edges of the sand ring 36, slots 39 are formed thcrethrough at intervals and between the slots ribs 40 are provided upon the upper surface of the sand ring to enga ecorrespondingly shaped grooves formed in the lower surface of a sand ring 41 which is slidably supported upon the lower sand ring between the outer wall of the lire-box and the lower edge of the hopper, slots 4-2 being formed through the upper sand ring and arranged to at times register withthe slots 39 in the lower sand ring. Agitator pins 43 are carried by and rise from the upper sand ring so that, ii the said ring be shifted upon the lower sand ring. the sand and other material within the hopper will be agitated and the lumps of clay and other foreign matters will be broken up and will be prevented from bale ing and adhering to the wall of the the box. To enable the user to shift the upper sand ring when necessary and thus effect the desired agitation of the contents of the III hopper, a pin or stud 44dependsfrom the 7 said sand ring through one of the slots in the lower sand'ring to engage a longitudinal slot l5 in a'lever 46 which is pivoted in any convenient niannerupon the rim 8, as shown most clearly in 2. If thelever eGbe rocked or oscillated in a horizontal plane, the engagement of the walls of the slot as with the pin or stud/l4 will cause the upper sand ring to move in a circular path around the lire-box and upon the lower sand ring in an obvious manner, the extent of movement being limited by'the ends of the slot.

The inner andouter Walls of the firebox maybe cast as an integral structure but economy is served. bycasting them separately and assembling them in the manner shown and described. It will not be neces sary to provide any means for positively securing the walls together inasmuch as there is no strain imposed upon either wall and the frictional engagement between the walls will serve to maintain them in proper relation. For the same reasons, the inner and outer walls or shells of thedome are preferably formedas separate castings, and to aid in placing the inner shell of the dome in proper position upon the fire-box so that the grooves in said shell will aline with the grooves in the wall of the fire-box centering pins or studs 47 are provided in the lower end of the said shell to engage sockets provided therefor in the upper end of the fire-box. V I

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawthe damper 34 in an obvious manner. The

draft created by the fire which is the only draft employed will suck air through the ash pit upwardly through the grate and some of this air will pass through the channels provided by the grooves 25 and the alined grooves 33 so that the walls of the fire-box and the dome will be prevented 'from attaining such a high temperature as will cause fusing thereof while permitting them to acquire temperature suitable for drying the sand. As the temperature of the walls of the fire-box and the dome increases, draft-will be created through the grooves 27 and the alined grooves 33 so that moist air will be drawn from the sand and permitted to escape through the fire-box, the

result being that the sand is relieved of moisture and will be dried expeditiously and at the same time evenly. Should therebe a tendency of the material to cake at the bottom of the hopper, a few oscillations of the lever 46 will cause sufficient movement of the agitator fingers or pins 43to break up the lar e lumps and loosen the material so that the fine particles may escape through the slots l2 and 39. Obviously, the rapidity of escape may be regulated by setting the upper sand ring to expose more or less of the slots 39 in the lower sand ring and this adjustment of the upper sand ring will be accomplished by properly setting the lever 46. The improved drier is simple and compact in construction, may be'easily assembled so that the substitution of a new part for a broken or worn out part may be easily effected, andwhen in use the drying of the sand will be effected expeditiously, thoroughly and economically.

Having thus described the invention, I claimz' 1. A sand drier comprising a fire-box, a hopper supported concentrically about the fire-box, a stationary sand ring encircling the fire-box at the bottom of the hopper and provided with discharge openings therethrough, an upper sand ring resting on the stationary sand ring and provided with openings therethrough adapted to register with the openings in the stationary sand ring, agitators rising from the upper sand ring, and means for slidably shifting the said upper sand ring.

2. A sand drier comprising a fire-box, a hopper supported concentrically about the firebox, means at the bottom of the hopper for supporting material to be dried and regulating discharge of the same, and means within the hopper for agitating the material.

3. A sand drier comprising a cylindrical fire-box, a stationary sand ring encircling the fire-box, a hopper supported by said sand ring, a second sand ring slidably resting upon the stationary sand ring, the sand rings being provided with slots theret-hrough arranged to aline with each other, a pin de-. pending from the upper sand ring through one of the slots in the stationary sand ring, and a lever pivotally supported below the stationary sand ring and provided with a longitudinal slot engaging the pin depending from the slidable sand ring.

4. A sand drier comprising a fire-box having air passages through its walls, a grate. mounted in the lower end of the fire-box, a

hopper surrounding the fire-box, a smoke a stack in communication with the fire-box and the passages through the walls thereof, and means for regulating the flow of air through the fire-box, the flow through the air passages in the wall of the fire-box ing unobstructed at all times. i

5. A sand drier comprising a fire-box having air passagesin its wall, some of said passages opening through the lower end of the wall and other of said passages terminating short of the lower end of the wall and opening through the side thereof, a hopper sur rounding the firebox and supported thereon at a point below the last-mentioned air passages whereby said air passages will com muuicate with the interior of the hopper, a smolro stack in eoimnunioatiou with the said air passages and with the interior of the firebox, a grate at the lower end of the firebox and means for regulating the flow of air through the firebox into the smoke staolc the flow through the air passages in the wall of the fire-box being unobstructed at all times.

6. A sand drier comprising a base constituting an ash pit having communication with the atmosphere, a fire-box resting upon the said base, a hollow grate at the lower end of the fire-box, a hopper supported on the fire-box and surrounding the same, the wall of the fire-box having air passages there through, some of said air passages communicating with the hollow grate and others of said passages communicating with the interior of the hopper, and means for regu' lating the flow of air through the firebox, the flow through the said air passages in the wall. of the firebox being unobstructed at all times.

In testimonv whereof I aflix mv signature.

EDWARD C. KIRK. [1,. s.] 

